TT 820 
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RAKE KNITTING 

AND ITS SPECIAL ADAPTATION 
TO INVALID WORKERS 



By 
SUSAN E. TRACY, R. N. 

A utJwr of 
Studies in Invalid Occupation 



• • • 
•• • 



RAKE KNITTING 

AND ITS SPECIAL ADAPTATION 
TO INVALID WORKERS 



By 
SUSAN E. TRACY, R. N. 

Author of 
Studies in Invalid Occupation 




WHITCOMB & BARROWS 
Boston, 1916 






Copyright 191 6 
By Whitcomb & Barrow; 



ft* 

MAY 1 1 1916 



!)CU431047 
%0 f . 



A TRIBUTE TO THE BRAVE WORKERS 

OF 

COLLIS P. HUNTINGTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL 

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 




rope rug (page 33) 



RAKE KNITTING 

And Its Special Adaptation to Invalid Workers 

SOME years ago the ladies of Hartford, Conn., 
learned to make bright, comfortable couch af- 
ghans on a wooden rake. This single, simple, coarse, 
and inexpensive tool could then be obtained in New 
York City. It was made in one size only. Later it 
became difficult, if not impossible, to secure these 

rakes. 

Recognizing a principle which might be readily ap- 
plied in providing invalids with suitable employment, 
this afghan stitch was learned and incorporated into 
the scheme of Invalid Occupation then taught at 
Adams Nervine Asylum, Jamaica Plain, Mass. 

It was not easy to obtain a rake, and the first one 
was rather a crude affair, made by sawing off twenty 
penny pencils and setting them into a bar of hard 
wood. This tool worked fairly well, but not as suc- 
cessfully as did the two following, which were made 
by the hospital engineer from 2 piece of dowel sawed 
to serve as pegs and set into a heavy bar. These two 
rakes still serve admirably. 

During a period of nine years many variations in 
these rakes have been found desirable. They have 
been made all the way from a model having as a base 
a stick of two by four timber, with pegs of dowel one 
inch in diameter, which is used for heavy rope, down 

5 



6 Rake Knitting 

to a rake as fine as a dog's comb, carrying fine silk. 
The standard size has twenty teeth set one-quarter of 
an inch apart, measuring from the outside of the peg. 
These teeth are either three-sixteenths or quarter-inch 
dowel, and should be one and one-half to two inches 
in height above the bar. These are best made by a 
good cabinet-maker, as great exactness is required. 
The pegs of the first rakes had a somewhat conical top, 
which was found to be less desirable than those hav- 
ing a blunt but carefully rounded top. All sorts of 
special sizes are made on order, as twenty-eight tooth, 
forty tooth, etc. The kind required is determined by 
the work to be done. For a demonstration lesson forty 
serviceable, if not elegant, rakes were made by an in- 
sane patient who used meat skewers as pegs. The pegs 
should always be set deeply and be strongly glued in, 
as the constant pulling upon them loosens them in time. 
In ordering it is necessary to specify the size de- 
sired. The special sizes vary in price according to 
style. A double rake is on sale in various department 
stores ; also one of circular form. 



Advantages of Rake Knitting over the Common 
Method with Knitting Needles 

1. A Single Tool 

Instead of a set of five slippery, sharp-pointed, small 
needles, the rake is a single, large, blunt tool, the only 
one really necessary to the work. 



Advantages of Rake Knitting 7 

2. It May be Used in Any Position 

Common knitting done by a patient on her back in 
bed requires a raising of the elbows at each stitch, 
which adds much to the fatigue of the process. Rake 
knitting requires little more than finger motion, so 
that a patient who is extensively paralyzed can carry 
on this form of knitting, provided the finger action is 
not greatly impaired. 

3. It Has No Sharp Points 

The fact that the rake is a large, blunt, wooden tool 
makes it a safe one for the insane. Of course, it might 
be smashed by a violent patient, but otherwise little 
harm could result, and in case of damage the expense 
is not great. 

4. A Large Tool 

Common knitting needles are constantly slipping 
away and getting lost among the bedclothes or under 
chairs. The patient would need to be well anaesthe- 
tized in order to lie on a wooden rake or to fail to 
locate it when it fell. 

5. A Simple Method 

In choosing a form of occupation for the sick, it is 
wise to select one having a simple method capable of 
wide and varied application. The actual learning of 
the principle of rake knitting occupies but a short 



8 Rake Knitting 

time, perhaps half an hour, while its elaboration and 
variations may lead on indefinitely. 

Because of this simplicity of method the work is 
peculiarly fitted to the teaching- of large groups of 
pupils. It is quite possible for one instructor to teach 
the principle to twenty or thirty persons in a single 
lesson period. Interest in the work is found to be 
quickly contagious and runs down a hospital ward 
from bed to bed, and fortunate is the institution which 
possesses rakes enough to supply the demand. 

6. A Sedative Occupation 

Rake knitting is a to-and-fro process. Over and 
over the testimony of patients is given to the fact that 
it quiets them. They like to do a little before going to 
sleep. In this case a certain amount of monotony is 
an advantage. 

7. It Is Adapted to Both Men and Women 

Some men like to knit with ordinary needles, but the 
number is few. Rake knitting done with rope or twine 
is well suited to the tastes of men and boys. 

8. The Work Is Quickly Finished 

Compared with common knitting in point of speed, 
rake knitting is far in the lead. It is quite possible that 
a patient might feel discouraged before a sock was 
completed, but rake work gets ahead of her depres- 
sion and is done before discouragement has time to 
develop. 



Necessary Materials 9 

9. It Allows Experiment 

Rarely does a month pass without some report from 
patient or nurse to the effect that a new idea has been 
developed in rake knitting. Practically all of the ex- 
amples given here are results of such reports. 

Necessary Materials 

Having secured the rake, it is well to provide a 
common orangewood stick or, better still, to buy a five- 
cent bone crochet hook, break off the hook, and file the 
end to a smooth point. This last process was discov- 
ered by a ward patient who broke her hook by acci- 
dent, but reached out and sharpened the end on the 
stone window ledge. Some knitters prefer to use only 
the fingers to' pull the thread over the pegs, but usually 
the stick is found to be a help. 

For afghans, heavy caps, hoods, and jackets, eight- 
fold Germantown wool is used ; for mufflers, light 
hoods, sweaters, etc., fourfold Germantown or Scotch 
wool is preferable. 

For hand bags a firm, hard-twisted cord is required, 
the best obtained thus far being known as "Anchor 
Cable." This is a linen twine which sells at from 
thirty-five to forty cents 1 per ball, and is carried in nine 
or ten different shades. If a cotton twine is used, the 
bag will have a tangled, mussy appearance. For eve- 
ning bags many like to use a silver or a gold tinsel 
cord. 

1 Owing to the war these prices are subject to change. 



io Rake Knittin 



Sometimes good effects are obtained by using col- 
ored jute for heavy book bags. It is, however, far 
from easy to work with, as it is inelastic. 

For rope rugs a kind of cable called blocking is 
used. In one case tarred trawl-line was used, but it 
is hard on the hands. One teacher reports rag rugs 
made on the rake with some success. 

The Method 

In restricted positions the rake may be held in any 
way suited to the patient's convenience. In ordinary 
cases, when the patient sits or is bolstered up in bed, the 
best rule is to allow the rake to stand up against the 
left hand, with the teeth pointing to the right and 
the lower end of the bar resting on the lap. Consider 
the rake as a harp or keyboard on which both hands 
slide easily. Do not grasp the rake at all, but let the 
left thumb and fingers slide over and up and down the 
bar, while the right hand operates the stick and car- 
ries the thread. 

Double the end of the wool and tie a knot, leaving a 
loop a little longer than will just slip over a peg. If 
wool is used, this will be large enough; if hard twine 
or rope is chosen, the loop should be somewhat larger 
than seems necessary, as the thread in this case is in- 
elastic. Slip this loop over the first upper peg, holding 
the knot at the back. Wind down the rake from peg to 
peg, always keeping the thread which runs between 



The Method 



1 1 



the pegs on the back of the rake. Bring the thread 
around the peg thus: 



X 



t 



2 



e 



g 




Continue in this way the length of the rake. When 
at the end, after winding the last peg, bring the thread 
around the same peg again, and reverse the winding 
on the second peg, continuing to the top. There are 
now two rows of loops on the pegs, and the next step 
is the actual knitting. 

The stitches are kept in an even line about three- 
fourths of an inch from the end of the pegs. If they 
are pushed far down, a long pull will be required to 
get the loop over the top of the peg, and straggling, 
irregular loops will injure the appearance of the work. 
If too near to the ends of the pegs, the stitches will 
slip off, and it is very hard to replace them. To knit, 
wind the thread around the end peg again, making 
three loops ; hold the stick by clasping with the fingers 
of the right hand precisely as one should not hold a 



\2 Rake Knitting 



spoon or fork. With the left thumb slip the lowest of 
the three loops on the peg slightly downward, and 
insert the stick under this lower loop, always having 
the point of the stick towards the bar of the rake ; 
lift the loop straight upward a little, then pull it over 
the two upper loops and over the top of the peg. Wind 
the second peg by reversing just as done on the lower 
second peg, and knit again. Continue back and forth 
until the work is of the desired length. 

One question frequently asked is, "What is done 
when the pegs are all full?" This never happens. 
There are always two loops on the pegs, and a third 
is put on to knit. The finished work hangs off like a 
sock on the needles. Beginners are apt to use far too 
much energy and waste much strength. There should 
be no tugging or dragging of the thread over the 
pegs. The one motion required, apart from winding 
the peg, is a half turn of the wrist. This makes a good 
corrective exercise in cases of stiff arms or where 
there is impairment of the rotation of the forearm. 

The work is seen on the wrong side for some time 
until of sufficient length to show both sides. 

Always keep the straight connecting thread between 
the pegs on the back of the rake. Never allow it to 
come to the front. 

Always wind the end pegs twice, going down and 
again when coming up. 

Always keep the rake in the same position. Never 
turn it. 



Baby Carriage Afghan 



13 




BABY AFGHAN 



Baby Carriage Afghan 
Materials Needed : 

1 Rake (large size for heavy wool). 

1 Orangewood stick. 

1 Pound white eightfold Germantown wool. 

1 Half skein blue eightfold Germantown wool. 

1 Bone crochet hook (large size). 

With white wool set up the entire length of rake 
(20 pegs) according to the preceding rules. Be sure 



14 Rake Knitting 

to hold all wool very loosely, as it is spoiled by being 
stretched. Work back and forth 10 times. The best 
way to count the rows is by the straight threads be- 
tween the braid-like stripes. It is hard to distinguish 
stitches in the braid. 

Leave the white wool and tie a loop in the blue, 
setting up as if beginning work. Work 2 rows of blue, 
drop blue wool, take up the white, work 2 rows of 
white wool. Alternate these, working 2 rows of each 
color until there are five stripes of blue. Cut off blue 
wool, and fasten. 

Continue with the white until no rows of white 
have been knitted, then start the blue again and repeat 
the alternate stripe border and the 10 white rows. 
Take the work off the rake with a crochet hook, being 
careful not to draw up the work and so make one end 
tighter and shorter than the other. This is prevented 
by pulling the loop on the hook looser than seems 
necessary. 

This finishes one stripe of the afghan. Make two 
more like the first, and join them by putting the edges 
together, right side out ; with crochet hook pull wool 
through both edges and through the loop on the hook 
loosely. This makes a large, simple chain on the out- 
side which looks much like the braid of the rake work. 
A scalloped border crocheted all the way round or a 
fringe on the ends may be used as a finish. A lining 
of China silk adds to the beauty of the afghan. 



Block-Work Afghan — Alsatian Stripe 15 

A Block-Work Afghan 

A block-work afghan is made by using two colors 
of eightfold Germantown, working with one color 
until a square is formed. Cut off the wool and join 
the second color, repeating the squares until long 
enough. 

The second stripe will be begun with the alternate 
color of the first one. The third stripe is made exactly 
like the first one. The average length of stripe for a 
baby's afghan is one yard. Join the three stripes, 
matching the blocks carefully, and crochet a scalloped 
border. 

The Alsatian Stripe 

One of the bravest and most appreciative of rake 
knitters was a bright-eyed, black-haired woman of 
Alsace-Lorraine. She lay paralyzed in the corner bed 
of a hospital ward, dying of cancer of the spine. Un- 
able to move her body, she could still use her fingers, 
and she hailed the rake knitter as a helper for hours 
of pain. Placing the rake horizontally across her chest, 
she turned out large numbers of well-made pieces. 

This woman derived much pleasure from working- 
out new ideas on her rake. One morning she said in 
queer English: "One day I feel pretty good, pretty 
good, and I say to him, 'You stripe, you go other way/ 
and I try him and — he go other way!" What she 
meant was this : She had been putting Roman stripes, 
transverse bands, across the ends of her mufflers, but 



1 6 Rake Knitting 

the idea of carrying different colors along longitudin- 
ally had not been developed. To have one set of long 
braids of one color and then one of another shade — 
this was her problem. 

It was solved in this way : Use three separate balls 
of wool — two of gray and one of red. Set up 6 pegs 
of gray ; then leaving the gray wool hanging behind, 
set up 4 pegs of red ; leave this behind and set up 5 



ALSATIAN STRIPE 

pegs of gray wool from the second ball. Wind back 
with the gray, but carry it over / red peg; drop it and 
wind with the red, carrying it over / gray peg; finish 
winding with the gray. To knit wind with gray, and 
knit winding the gray over 1 red peg and the red over 
1 gray peg. This will make a stripe having five gray 
braids, one mixed herring-bone gray and red braid, 
two plain red, another mixed gray and red, and five 
more plain gray. The number of braids of any one 
color may be varied to suit the taste, but one mixed 



Mufflers ly 

stripe must always be allowed for wherever the colors 
join. This is a beautiful stripe, well suited to afghans, 
cap borders, mufflers, etc. And we are indebted to this 
woman in the Valley of the Shadow for its devel- 
opment. 

Mufflers 

Materials Needed : 

i Small standard rake for twine. This rake will 
have twenty pegs, and will make a muffler six and 
one-quarter inches wide. If one wider is desired, 
a twenty-eight peg rake may be used. 

4 Skeins fourfold tan Germantown or Scotch wool. 

\ Skein each of seal brown and burnt orange wool. 

Set up all the pegs with tan wool, and knit four 
inches of plain tan. Join the seal brown at the edge 
and knit 4 rows; join the burnt orange and knit 
2 rows. Knit 4 more of the seal brown and cut and 
fasten the border colors. Knit one yard of the plain 
tan and repeat the border. Cut wool into eight-inch 
lengths and knot in ends for fringe. 

Sometimes a crocheted chain is made very loosely 
and caught by a tight stitch to form a fringe of long 
loops. With coarse wool the cut fringe is more 
attractive. 

Soldiers' mufflers have been made by patients on the 
standard size rakes, and two joined together and 
sewed lengthwise. This works well, as the braid pat- 
tern makes the seam scarcely distinguishable. In wool 



i8 



Rake Knitting 



mufflers great care must be taken to keep the wool 
very loose ; otherwise the muffler will roll lengthwise. 
Should this occur, it may be partly remedied by wring- 




MUFFLER AND OSTEND CAP {page 20) 



ing a sheet dry from cold water and spreading it on 
the carpet over night. Pin the muffler to the wet sheet, 
exactly as you wish it to lie; use many pins, and pin 



Hoods 



19 



through to the carpet. Leave just as it is until morn- 
ing, when the evaporation will have brought the work 
to better shape. 

Hoods 

One of the simplest pieces of rake work, and one 
enjoyed by little girls, is the hood. 




HOOD 

Materials Needed: 

1 Standard wool rake. 

4 Skeins eightfold Germantown wool. 

Set up all the pegs. Knit plain until you have a 
strip twenty-nine inches long. Crochet off. Fold the 



20 Rake Knitting 

strip across in the center, and either sew overhand or 
crochet on right side, up one side, and fasten. Cro- 
chet scalloped border around the entire edge. Run a 
ribbon in around the neck, four or five inches from 
the bottom, leaving ends to tie. 

It is a good plan to run a double wool thread just 
above the forehead on the edge to draw it in slightly 
to fit the face. The point at the back may be pulled up 
like an Eskimo hood or it may lie smooth. It is some- 
times desirable also to knit a separate strip, setting up 
9 or 10 pegs of a contrasting shade of wool, making 
enough in length to sew around the face of the hood 
and turn back like a Priscilla hood. Any little girl can 
make this hood. 

Ostend Cap 

Materials Needed: 
i Small standard rake. 
6 Skeins red fourfold Germantown wool. 
J Skein black fourfold Germantown wool. 
4 Black buttons I inch diameter. 

Set up all the pegs and knit one strip of red fifteen 
inches long. Crochet off. Knit two strips sixteen 
inches long, finishing each singly. Sew the last two 
together lengthwise halfway down. Sew the first 
strip across the end of the two sewed together, revers- 
ing the cross-strip so that when turned back it will 
come on right side. Crochet an edge of black single 
crochet all the way around the edge. Turn the front 



Skating Cap 



21 



strip back, and place two buttons on the ends of this 
strip. Draw up or plait the ends of the two loose 
strips, and place the other two buttons on these. Twist 
a cord of the black wool and make four loops, which 
cross from button to button in fastening. Cross the 
two strips at the back of the head, and fasten at sides. 
This model was suggested by a hospital patient and 
worked out by a bright young girl in the ward. It has 
been a popular style. 




SKATING CAP 



Skating Cap 
Materials Needed: 

i Standard wool rake. 

3 Skeins navy blue eightfold Germantown wool. 

i Skein dark red eightfold Germantown wool. 



22 Rake Knitting 

Set up all the pegs with blue wool and knit a plain 
strip twenty-one inches long. Crochet off. Fold across 
the center and crochet sides together, working on the 
right side of work and using single crochet stitch. A 
line of this crochet stitch may be carried across on the 
edge of the fold. Fasten. 

Set up 10 pegs with dark red wool. Knit a strip 
long enough to sew around the edge of cap so that it 
will turn up all around. Reverse in sewing so that 
border will come right side out. Join ends of border 
on side of cap. Pull down the two corners and fasten 
at top of border with buttons, pompons, or other orna- 
ment. If preferred, only one point may be pulled down 
and fastened with a long wool tassel. The other point 
is then tucked in under the crown. 

Polo Cap 

Materials Needed: 

i Large standard wool rake, 
i Ball gray eiderdown wool, 
i Ball red eiderdown wool. 

A graduate nurse writes from a case in a distant 
city: "I am making very good-looking caps in rake 
knitting. I use Columbia eiderdown wool." 

Knit 10 pegs for the first six times. *Knit 7 pegs 
only for the seventh and eighth rows. Knit 8 stitches 
for the ninth and tenth rows. Knit 7 stitches for the 
eleventh and twelfth rows. Knit 10 stitches for 
the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seven- 



Polo Cap 23 

teenth, and eighteenth rows.* Repeat from * to * until 
one ball of wool is used. Sew ends and top together. 
Set up 9 pegs of red wool for border. Knit a straight 
band, which is sewed to edge of cap and turned up. 




POLO CAP 



A hospital patient has worked out these directions 
for the same sort of cap: 

(One row means here once up the rake and once 
down.) Knit 12 stitches; knit 10 stitches and turn for 
second row. Knit 12 stitches for third row, 8 stitches 
for fourth row, 9 for fifth, 8 for sixth, 12 for seventh, 
10 for eighth, 12 for ninth. Repeat from eighth to 
twelfth until ball is used. Border of 7 or 9 pegs. 



2 4 



Rake Knitting 



Charming caps for dolls may be made after the 

preceding rules. 




doll's caps 



Spencer 

Materials Needed: 

3 to 4 Skeins of eightfold Germantown or heavy 

Scotch wool, 
i Large standard wool rake. 

Set np all the pegs. Knit a strip reaching from 
collar to waistline in back. Crochet off. Knit a second 
strip the length of the underarm seam. Take off 4 
stitches from one side, slipping them on a string tem- 
porarily. Continue knitting until you reach the outer 
tip of the shoulder, which will be about 15 rows. You 
have on your rake 16 stitches; these should now be 
reduced to 10, which is one-half of those on the back- 
piece. 

Beginning at the shoulder end, carefully slip the 
first two loops onto the second peg, making four on 



Spencer 



25 



this peg ; repeat this on the next two pegs, after which 
slip the first four up one peg. Proceed in this way 
until you have only 10 pegs in use. Knit off these 
double stitches by slipping the under two over the 
upper two. When across turn and knit back to the 




last peg; leave this without knitting, and return ; omit 
one on the shoulder end every alternate row until all 
are knit, and you have a triangular gore or yoke on 
the shoulder and 10 stitches on the rake. Slip off care- 
fully and crochet or sew to one-half of the end of 
the backpiece ; join underarm seam. Make the second 
front in same way, reversing the shoulder, and join to 



26 



Rake Kuitting 



back. Crochet an edge around or bind with ribbon. 
Snap fasteners close the front. 




BREAKFAST JACKET 

Breakfast Jacket 

Materials Needed: 
i Small standard rake. 
10 Skeins blue fourfold Germantown wool or Shet- 
land floss. 
i Skein white fourfold Germantown wool. 



Sweater 27 

Knit two mufflers (see Mufflers), using the white 
wool for borders and finishing ends with fringe. Knit 
a plain blue strip twelve inches long. Place mufflers 
over shoulders, bringing ends below waistline at back 
and front; insert the short strip in middle of back 
from waistline up. Sew this to both mufflers and draw 
together at waistline. Lace the mufflers with ribbon 
at underarm seams. Tie with ribbons in front. Finish 
with white crochet border. 

Sweater 

Materials Needed: 

1 Forty-peg rake (small-size pegs). 
5 Skeins five-ply Scotch wool. 

Back 

Set up all the pegs and knit until the strip measures 
the length from neck to desired length below waist- 
line. Crochet off. 

Front 

Set up all the pegs and knit until, measuring from 
the bottom, the under armsize is reached. Crochet off 
12 pegs and continue the rest, knitting plain to the out- 
side shoulder tip. It will be about 40 rows. It is now 
necessary to reduce the number of stitches on front 
to one-half the number of back. To do this, working 
from the sleeve side of front, slip the first 2 stitches 
over onto the next peg. making 4 stitches on this peg. 
Repeat this with the next two pairs, moving the groups 



28 



Rake 



Knitting 



of 4 stitches up the rake as space is made. This proc- 
ess is repeated until there are 8 pegs having 4 stitches 
and 12 pegs having 2 stitches. Knit across, knitting 




the double stitches as if they were single. This is now 
ready to narrow to form shoulder line. 

Keeping the front straight, knit one less stitch each 



Sweater 29 

row on the shoulder side. In other words, drop off 
one stitch each time at shoulder until all are off. Cro- 
chet off and sew to one-half of the upper end of back. 
Knit the second front in the same way, reversing the 
12 underarm pegs which are dropped off. Sew up 
underarm and shoulder seams. 

Sleeve 

Set up all the pegs and knit plain for fifteen inches. 
Knit 1 plain stitch, slip next 2 stitches to next peg, and 
knit as one. Knit across plain except the last 3 pegs ; 
slip 2 stitches to next peg and knit as one ; knit last 
stitch plain. Repeat this last row for 3 rows only, 
which makes a slight tapering. Knit 12 times across 
plain. The model has these stitches transferred at this 
point to common knitting needles, and a two-inch 
wristlet made by knitting and seaming two stitches 
alternately. Bind off and sew up the sleeve. Sew it 
into sweater, placing the seam about halfway between 
the shoulder and underarm seam at the back. 

Set up 6 pegs and knit a plain band of the same or 
of contrasting color, to be sewed flat upon the edge of 
the sweater, thus making a double edge and prevent- 
ing curling, as well as strengthening the border. The 
sleeve may seem a little smaller than the armsize at 
first, but if stretched it will fit and soon shape itself 
when worn. This sweater is very attractive made 
from heather-mixture Scotch yarn. 



3o 



Rake Knitting 



Twine Bags 

For a long time the only use made of the rake knit- 
ter was for wool. The experiment was tried of using 

some stiff green twine 

which chanced to be on 
hand. This resulted in 
a rather satisfactory 
twine mesh which at 
once suggested a bag. 
These bags have since 
been made in great 
numbers from the An- 
chor Cable described on 
page 9. The handling 
of twine varies some- 
what from that of the 
wool. It should be held 



^ImmI 






' 




?v'v^P?ivT*^i? 






a'JsB 


iPf> : 



TWINE BAG 



tighter, although it is 
quite possible to hold it 
too tightly. The small- 
size rake is used for 
these bags, usually the 
twenty-peg, although 
many persons like the 
twenty-eight- 
peg rake, which, of 
course, makes a wider 
bag. 




TWINE BAb 



Square Cord for Bags . 31 

Hand Bag 

A neat hand bag is made by knitting a plain strip 
eleven and one-half inches long. Crochet off, being 
careful not to draw in the end tightly. Double and 
crochet up the sides on the right side of the bag, using 
a single crochet stitch. Crochet a close, single crochet 
around the top, then 1 row of double crochet, missing 
every alternate stitch. In this the draw cord runs. A 
favorite edge is 2 rows of loose chain caught down 
tightly every 3 stitches. Every cut end of Anchor Cable 
must be sewed down tightly, as it is very slippery. 
One ball makes three bags of this size. Two separate 
draw cords are made, each one being seventeen and 
one-half inches long. 

Tinsel bags of silver or gold are popular for eve- 
ning bags, and are brilliant when lined with silk. In 
lining rake bags be sure to take the measure with the 
bag stretched to its greatest width ; otherwise the in- 
elastic lining will prevent the bag from stretching. 

Square Cord for Bags 

A hospital patient brought a curious little frame on 
which she made cords for eyeglasses and watches. The 
trick was learned from a sailor in the Azores. 

A slip noose is first tied, leaving the end some three 
inches or more long; slip this over one side of the 
frame A, and holding the knot in the center B, carry 
the thread around the end C, turning the frame in the 



32 Rake Knitting 

left hand. The left thumb and finger should hold the 
thread at B all the time. With the right thumb and 
forefinger draw the lower left-hand thread straight 
out to the left, then over the top, slipping it over the 



FRAME FOR MAKING CORD 

upper thread ; then, holding the cord firmly, draw the 
long thread until the loop comes to the cord in the cen- 
ter. Always turn the frame in the same direction, 
twice round the first time and then once each time. If 
the cord does not draw up easily, you may be sure that 
the frame has been turned the wrong way, and you 



Rope Rugs 33 

must begin again. Do not hold the cord too tightly. 
This results in a kinked cord. It is noted that very 
weak patients make the best cord. This 'is often true 
of rake work as well. 




JUTE BAG 

Rope Rugs 

The development of porch rugs made on a large 
rake is due to a patient who is unparalleled as an ex- 
ample of fortitude and industry. A man of middle 
age, of fine manner and full of ambition, he has been 
the subject of a most terrible and destructive malig- 
nant disease. With no eyes remaining and suffering 
beyond all description, this bravest of men works in 
his corner bed in a hospital ward, turning out fine, 



34 Rake Knitting 

strong rugs which sell at five dollars each. These are 
made of blocking (see frontispiece), laced into a frame 
of galvanized iron rod. They are well-nigh indestructi- 
ble. There need be no more powerful argument for 
invalid occupation than the testimony of this man, 
given in two significant words, " It helps." 



INDEX 

PAGE 

Advantages of Rake Knitting 6 

Alsatian Stripe 15 

Baby Carriage Afghan 13 

Block- Work Afghan 15 

Breakfast Jacket 26 

Doll's Caps 24 

Hand Bag 31 

Hoods 19 

Materials, Necessary ........ 9 

Method 10 

Mufflers 17 

Ostend Cap 20 

Polo Cap 22 

Rope Rugs 33 

Skating Cap 21 

Spencer 24 

Square Cord for Bags 3 1 

Sweater 27 

Twine Bags . 30 



35 



William J. Nutting 

i 7 Garfield St., Winchester, Mass. 

Manufacturer of 

KNITTING RAKES AND 
WINDERS 

PRICE LIST 

20 Tooth Twine Rakes $0.50, postage .05 extra 

28 " " " 0.65, " " " 

40 " " " 1. 00, i: " " 

20 " Wool " 0-50, " " " 

Winders 0.25, postpaid 



Circular Rakes and other sizes 
made to order 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




ffl 



014 147 694 4 * 



